Ahead of the Bell: Adobe upgraded

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jefferies & Co. upgraded Adobe on Wednesday, saying its shift to an online subscription-based business model for its popular software packages will help grow its user base.

The maker of Photoshop, Illustrator and other software for designers, developers and other professionals said in May that it will not release new versions of its Creative Suite software package, which can run in the thousands of dollars. Instead Adobe is shifting focus to Creative Cloud, which makes its software available through a monthly subscription that starts at $50 for an individual if they sign up for at least a year.

Jefferies analyst Ross MacMillan thinks this will help Adobe attract new users. He upgraded adobe to "Buy" from "Hold" and raised his target price to $57 from $45.

Shares of Adobe Systems Inc., based in San Jose, climbed 68 cents to $45.05 in premarket trading.